Unclogging A Tough Clog On Ip 3500 (also Applies To Ip4500, And Others Similar)

[maverick01]

Hi,

I just thought I would share my experience as this site has helped me in the past. I have read numerous posts on unclogging print heads and how it's supposed to be done but never had much success in the past. I even managed to total the print head from my trusted Canon MP 780 after letting in sit in hot water (not from the tap but boiled).

Back to the clogged pigmented black on my IP3500. I was afraid to destroy this cartridge too. Amungst the things I have tried and that have failed are forcing water with a syringe, letting sit in ammoniac + distilled water (for days), letting sit in vinegar, letting sit in 70% alcohol. I was getting desperate at that point and thinking that the head was done for. Here is what did work and some practical advice for those who have never done it.

1. First clean the cartridge under a controlled flow of hot tap water taking caution not to get water on the electrical contacts. If you do, don't panic it should be OK. Don't wipe the cartridge dry.
2. Try forcing hot tap water using a syringe and a tube on the top of the ink entry holes (where the cartridge sits when mounted). Use moderate force. If the head is not clogged you should see the water coming out the other end - easily noticeable. You can try it on the other colors to see what it's supposed to do when not clogged. When it did unclog I saw black ink coming out from underneath that the faucet hadn't flushed in the initial cleaning.
   
3. If that's not working, (my case), and this is the clincher, I suggest you use steam. Boil water in a pot with the lid on and either lift a small corner of the lid or use the side holes of the lid (my lid has small holes) for steaming up the clogged head. I held the head under the steam for roughly 5 minutes (maybe a little less) using work gloves to avoid getting burned. I had to do it twice (2 x 5 minutes).
   
4. Repeat step 2 and if necessary step 3 till it unclogs.
5. Let the head air-dry for about an hour.
6. Re-install the head and cartridges, and do a pattern print (worked for me first pass) and if necessary a head clean for clogged color. If it's still clogged (which should have been visible at step 2) restart from beginning.
7. Use it so it won't dry again ;-)

Other thoughts: My hose on the syringe was not a perfect fit over the the hole. It was a bit smaller, but it covered most of the surface and was sufficient to flush out the ink. In the end I know it's the steam that did the trick.

Hope this helps someone not to throw in the towel too early.

 

[Ash]

I wonder if one of those hand held steam cleaners would work instead?

 

[mikling]

I am rediscovering the use of those old school cleaning cartridges. Here is how I go about it today.

Remove as much ink as possible from offending cartridge. Fill with windex with ammonia.Saturate the sponge all the way to the top with windex.
Blow through top vent until windex comes out from the exit from the cartridge.
Place into printer.
Remove cartridge plug. Yes. Remove plug. For topfilling only.
Perform one or two head cleans.
Let cleaning cartridge sit inside printer overnight.
Next day, remove the cleaning cartridge. The cartridge will likely be empty as it will slowly leak into the printhead and end up in the purging station.
Continue to flush procedure on the cartridge.

The additional step of windex I have found gently flushes the internals of the printhead over a period of time. On the printer side it also floods the purging station and on the pigment channel, loosens sediment and clears the lines to prevent blockages. On the cartridge side, it does the same by truly cleaning the sponges. With this, removal of the printhead and handling it might actually be unnecessary.

On the flushed cartridge, the general thought is to just flush and color is OK, I'm leaning towards flushing till the sponge comes a shade of white. The addition of windex into the flush cartridge helps clean up the sponges nicely. I'm thinking the deposits left on the sponge is really old ink. If windex can't get it off, then it is like to stick on and not reddissolve into the new ink and that won't be a problem. But skipping the windex, we won't know if the old ink will redissolve back into the new ink.

I would tend to stay away from any extreme forces and temperatures on the printhead. Windex with ammonia or other glass cleaners with ammonia has a history of clearing and cleaning up after ink really well. Also I generally am afraid of letting printheads dry out for any period of time out of the printer; washed or unwashed.